Self-Publishing Australia

A community and information hub for writers

How to get an author website

A website basically has three parts:

There are lots of services that provide “free websites”

WordPress.com

Wix.com

IMcreator.com
  • Free site with 3GB space
  • add a custom domain for Au$5/month
  • special templates for author/book sites
  • Free site with 500MB space
  • add a custom domain for US$10/month
  • special templates for author/book sites
  • Unlimited space
  • BYO domain
  • Free for students, artists & non-profits
  • US$8/month

Generally they’ll give you some free space, a system to create webpages, and a subdomain, which you can partly choose – http://AuthorName.wixsite.com – in return for putting ads on your website.

It’s a great way to get started. Later on you can buy premium services, such as removing ads.

Some services make it easy to buy a custom domain through them: http://www.AuthorName.com

What do I do if my author name URL is already taken?

You still have some options if there’s another ErnestHemingway.com out there.

  • Many authors append “author” to their name: http://www.MaryJonesAuthor.com
  • They may choose a different domain ending: http://www.MaryJones.tv
  • Or they may consider changing their author name, perhaps adding an initial http://www.MaryKJones.com

Why buy your own URL?

  • You’ll have more choice
  • It looks more professional
  • You can take it with you if you change website providers – it’s yours forever

You can download a printable pdf of this page here

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